Beggars Tale
by ihonestlytried
Summary: Cardverse AU, however it is a little different from ones written before. It takes place 1000 years before any of the cardverse fanfics. "'A tale from a thousand years ago; the lost king, the fortunate jack, the exhiled joker, the pain of a queen.' And with a raspy laugh the beggar disintegrated into the wind."
1. Chapter 1

_"In a world where gender was nothing,_

 _Where 'king' and 'queen' were just words of status, and power._

 _In a world where a battle field was a chess board_

 _And each believed they held the upper hand,_

 _had the ultimate pieces within their grasp._

 _In a world where all forgot they destructed the single game board that they all danced on,_

 _And danced and danced to their death."_

And so the beggar was dragged off the streets, pulled away from the large crowd that had formed.

"What are you playing at," his captor said.

With a silent smile and and a voice that sounded of a thousand years, they responded;

" _A tale from a thousand years ago; the lost king, the fortunate jack, the exiled joker, the sorrow of a queen."_

And with a raspy laugh they disintegrated into the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Unfortunate Jack: I**

The Kingdom of Hearts was like no other.

It was a lively place thrumming and pulsing with the hustle and bustle of passing merchants and peasants. From each window sill hung flowers, and the walls painted in warm colours above tall delicate lace like arches. The villages and towns looked like an ornate valentine, as if the region were viewed through a pink, romance tinted glass. Of course, it should be, for they were blessed by Venus, their faith residing in loyalty to the heart from their flowered hills to cobblestone streets. And, with a delightful town, comes the most pleasant of people. A sweeping gaze of the streets could easily tell.

"Hello!"

"Good morning!"

"Ciao!"

"Guten morgen!"

"Watch where the f*ck you're going!"

One youth stood out in the crowd. In a sea of blondes and light brunettes, pink, white, and brown cotton garments, popped up a head of rich dark brown with a rebellious curl, wearing a simple white shirt with black slacks and suspenders. On his back slung a string instrument of which the townspeople knew well of.

"Lovino!"

A bystander old lady in an apron swatted his head, in a patronizing tone. The man that had bumped into him smiled and apologized good-naturedly.

"If it helps, here, have these. Tell Feli I said 'hello!' too."

Peering into the paper bag that was passed, he saw that he had received a generous amount of ripe tomatoes that all who knew him knew he had an affinity for. Lovino gave a sigh of defeat and nodded, because how can anyone stay mad after a gift like that?.

With a huff that carried no weight or aggression, he turned and walked down his original path.

This has been his daily routine for as long as he can remember. Wake up, eat, dapple with the chores, take a walk, eat, maybe work and put some sweat into it, walk/flirt, nap, and go home to eat and sleep again. This consistency was a great comfort to Lovino, and he naturally kept with this routine religiously everyday.

"Lovino, anything scheduled for later today?" Shouts a man from a corner, clinging to the door frame from his store as he leaned out to better get the boy's attention.

"Nah, I don't think so. Send a dove and I'll let Feliciano know."

"Thanks! And I hope the Selection goes in your favor!"

Patting his trusty tool and instrument on his back as an answer, he continued walking. This time though, with a little more hunch to his shoulders.

Damn, so many interruptions today. "The Selection"... A topic he's been avoiding for ages. Recently into Heart, was designated a new King and Queen (of which the people of the kingdom were so pleased and enthusiastic about. 'Did you see what a calm, collected Queen we have on the throne now?' 'The King as well, oh! What a match those two are.') And as the telling sign of the floating insignias above the Heart castle show, there left one capital "J" floating pale white underneath the entrancing "K" and "Q" that hovered boldly in red, signifying their long awaited occupancy. Lovino spared it a fleeting glance and frustratedly kicked the ground. It seemed to be the lingering topic nowadays, hidden in every corner of every conversation as anticipation and curiosity buzzed throughout the small-so damn small- village.

His grandfather had been the last Jack; the infamous Romulus.

Romulus, known endearingly as "Rome", fulfilled his role as both advisor and entertainer well, and though decades have passed, the people have said that there would be no other like him within his line of work. His free spirit, jokes that lightened any tense negotiation room, genuinity as he sang to the kids at the square, his charitableness as he donated his savings to the community… And this so worshipped and hero-ized man who had all that anyone could ever want in the world, disappeared one day out of the blue, leaving the kingdom and the royal family without their designated Jack. Without a complete set, everybody knew how vulnerable the kingdoms were. Constant fear plagued the people as the King and Queen tried their best to ease their subjects; which may have been why the entertainment business had peaked so high as it had, as well as the kingdom's passion for shows and artistry. The kingdom drowned itself in distractions as everything eventually evened out. Until a generation of the next regime, extremely short cut, went without a jack. And another. And another. What had changed and brought hope to the people this time, however, was that the absent "J" in previous coronations had appeared once again in the sky.

The celebration had been a grand occasion. All entertainers took to the streets as one teeming mess of joyous melodies, and the villages renowned beauty flourished as lace curtains, embroidered blankets, and decorative scarves were waved out of windows along with handfuls of stelline and candies.

This is where things got tricky for Lovino. The crap talk of the kingdom was that "What began with Romulus will end with Romulus," as in the next Vargas was to end this supposed "cursed" short term regimes, and restore stability or what not. One problem: there were two Vargas's available for this role. And worse? They were twins. Of course this added hype to the shifty rumor. But what unsettled Lovino the most, was that he would then be rivals with his twin (little brother,) when time came. Despite his hostile outward demeanor, there was no soul who could tear the twins apart unwillingly. The disappearance of Rome was a scandal for the family, and the only one who shared remotely anything close to what he did was Feliciano. They were each other's greatest consultant and sympathizers, and if not that, a mutual reliability.

" _So much… 'trust'..."_

Lovino whirled around; it was a voice that sent chills down his spine. Muscles tense. Hair stand on his arms. A dragging sensation from his back, reaching towards his chest, as the air turned cold and strained to take each breath.

" _Little brothers… something the elder must always look after. Yet, look at you. A little… lacking on that front. And what's worse, you're well aware of the fact."_

The voice was like a low, gravelly, rasp, like the rough concrete his hand sought purchase on. Lovino fell back on a wall, unsteady on his feet. He looked up to a dead end alleyway with clotheslines hanging shirts, casting dark and wavering shadows. So horrible were those shifting shadows, mocking him. In a sudden breeze, one grew larger and larger, and thin, chilling-cold enveloping him. He was confused, so confused. The voice? Where had it gone?

The loud ruffling of the shirt brought him back to his senses. He opened his eyes to the white cotton fabric, reflecting the blinding sunlight on his face. The alley was illuminated once again, after the brief fiasco, warming the stone of the cobblestone and bricks. Dark fuzziness ebbed away from the edges of his vision as he took a steadying breath.

'It was the wind,' he told himself. The shirt just happened to be damp and cold from being just hung to dry in the breeze, and he must've been staring at the sun for too long, 'yeah, must've been.' and it had messed with his vision. He held his shaking wrist tightly and rubbed up and down.

"Fratello!"

Never would he admit it, but as soon as he heard that voice, his shallow breaths evened, and felt a calm warmth return to his body and finger tips again. Old habits do seem to die hard, he guessed.

"What are you doing here, Feliciano?"

"I was on my way to look for you, because I wanted to visit the fountains!"

"Go by yourself, dammit. I haven't had any peace during my walk!"

wasn't _that_ the truth.

"We'll earn some pretty good pocket money~"

Lovino hid a smirk behind his hand as he feigned exasperation, hating how his sibling knew how to reel him into his plans.

"Tsch, how can I deny a pretty penny? Lead the way, fratello," he said, jerking his chin towards its general direction."How'd you find me anyways?"

The two brothers set off as Lovino claimed that he wouldn't share the tomatoes in his bag for his life, though they both knew he'd eventually hand one over after tasting their quality himself. And Feliciano would walk, receiving that tomato, and knowing that those little things were the reason why he'd memorized his brothers 'autopilot' schedule, and would never tell the other about that fact as he made it part of his schedule to catch up with him 'accidentally' every once in awhile.

A/N: hey guys, I'm back and no better(!) at writing or grammar. I'd like to let any of you still around, or those that are new, know that I will be continuing my fics again because its the summer and I seem to be feeling a... better flow of writing again.

stay tuned!


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